Carbon Sequestration: what really matters? - A reply to Buckeridge & Aidar

Abstract

This is a reply to Buckeridge & Aidar's (2002) Point of View on the possible usefulness of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) built to increase carbon sequestration, and Plant Gene Therapy (PGT), particularly in rain forests, as future tools to reduce excessive atmospheric CO2. We argue that the alternatives to carbon sequestration they presented should not be treated as scientific or political priority, since their arguments have major ecological and socio-political flaws, such as ecological unpredictability, the existence of an already high potential for carbon sequestration by native non-manipulated plants, and the relevance of scientific and political sovereignty in regard to the global change issue.